Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026
Ms COFFEY (Griffith) (16:22): Every child begins life with abilities that deserve a chance to grow. But, in Australia today, where a child grows up still has too much influence over where their education can take them. Family income, distance and whether their parents went to university can shape their choices long before they submit an application to a tertiary provider.
The Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026 is about changing that. It's about opening the doors of opportunity. For Labor, those words carry a clear promise: no child's postcode, family income or parents' education should set the limits of their future.
Education gives people choices. It gives them knowledge, confidence and the skills to build a secure life. It gives our communities the teachers, nurses, builders, engineers, artists and carers that we rely on.
But opportunity is never created simply by declaring that a door is open. A student needs a place at a tertiary institution. They need the means to accept it.
They need support to keep studying through financial pressure, family crisis or a difficult first year. Then they need a fair chance to finish. This bill responds to each part of that task.
It establishes a managed growth funding system to provide more Commonwealth supported university places. It creates demand driven, needs based funding for students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, First Nations students and students at regional campuses. Across the next decade, these reforms will invest another $3.6 billion in higher education and fund an estimated 230,000 additional commencing students.
This is how we open the door wider and help more students reach the other side. This is an issue that has shaped much of my working life. Before entering this place, I had the great honour of working alongside and supporting remarkable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people from across Australia, including many from remote and regional communities.
For 13 years I worked with the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, most recently as its deputy CEO. During that time, AIEF provided transformational scholarships to more than 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. As I said, many of these young people were from regional and remote communities.
Many of those young people I now count among my friends. They have brought me enormous joy and inspiration. It has been a great honour to watch them thrive in their careers, their families and their communities.
Working alongside those students and their families for so many years shaped how I think about access to quality education. I saw young people travel vast distances to study and families place enormous trust in schools and support staff. I saw year 12 graduations become family celebrations and young people move into further study, apprenticeships and first jobs.
I also saw how much work sits behind every successful transition. One of those students was Injarra Harbour, who grew up in Winton in Queensland's central west. He was a student that I was able to go visit, along with his family, in their home in Winton.
Injarra is academically minded and strongly supported by his family. I give a shout-out to his parents, Travis and Tracey, both absolutely remarkable individuals. A scholarship gave Injarra the chance to move about 1,300 kilometres to attend boarding school in Brisbane.
Injarra later became only the second Indigenous student to captain his school. He went on to study law at QUT and he completed an internship in Sydney. Injarra knew his experience was exceptional though.
He spoke about young people facing financial and social pressures that can narrow their choices before they reach university. He said, 'Many do not know their worth.' As Injarra put it, every kid has the potential to do wonderful things, but they need to have the stability to do so. That simple insight sits at the heart of this bill.
Talent exists in every community. Our task is to provide the stability, support and opportunity to allow it to grow. Injarra's success belongs to him.
It rests on his ability, hard work and the support of his family. But financial help brought an opportunity within reach, and ongoing guidance helped him make the most of it. That experience taught me a lesson I have carried into this place.
Access and success cannot be separated. An offer letter is important, but it can't pay the rent. A university place cannot help a student who cannot afford to leave home.
Enrolment alone will not carry someone through a family crisis or a difficult first semester. We need to open the door and give students a fair chance to succeed. The Universities Accord looked across the whole tertiary education system.
By 2050, at least 80 per cent of working-age Australians will need a TAFE qualification, a university degree or another tertiary qualification. This bill reforms university funding, but it forms part of a much wider national task. Australia needs strong universities and a strong public TAFE system.
We need clear pathways between them, and we need those pathways to work for school leavers, mature-age students and people changing careers. We see both parts of that system at work across Brisbane's southside in my community. TAFE Queensland's South Bank campus sits in the heart of Griffith, surrounded by our galleries, theatres, museums and the state library.
Students there train in nursing, early childhood education, community services, engineering, hospitality, information technology, business, justice and the creative arts. A nursing student can practice in a simulated hospital ward, while hospitality, music and game students learn with industry-standard facilities and technology. In the south of my electorate, the Mount Gravatt campus gives southside students another local option.
It offers courses in accounting, business, hospitality, education support, English language studies, justice and screen media. Mount Gravatt is also TAFE Queensland's fashion studies hub. Students use industry equipment and digital design software before showing their work at the annual Brisbane fashion parade.
I have loved visiting our local TAFE campuses several times with the assistant minister for skills and training. Each visit has reinforced the same point: TAFE gives practical skills, confidence and a direct path into secure work. These campuses open different doors for different people.
A school leaver can train for a first job. A worker can gain a new qualification. A student can use a diploma as a pathway into university.
At Griffith University's South Bank campus, the Queensland Conservatorium, the Queensland College of Art and Design and Griffith Film School educate the next generation of musicians, filmmakers, performers, artists and designers. Local students also study at QUT, UQ and campuses across Brisbane. Many combine classes with paid shifts while they have rising rent.
Some care for children or relatives. Some are the first person in their family to enter tertiary education. Opportunity must meet those students where they are.
Close to half of Australians in their thirties hold a university degree. Among people from low-income families and regional communities the rate is about half that. Students from these backgrounds have a lower chance of entering university.
Debate interrupted. The SPEAKER: It being 4.30 pm, the House stands adjourned until 12 noon tomorrow in accordance with the resolution agreed to on 12 August 2026. House adjourned at 16:30